Andorian sexes
The Andorian species is unusual in that there are four distinct Andorian genders, and a union between all four genders, an act known as the shelthreth, is required for procreation. Two of the genders, thaan and chan are roughly male, and the other two genders, zhen and shen, are roughly female. Andorians accept the terms "male" and "female", and the pronouns "he"/"she"/"him"/"her" etc., while dealing other species, as it avoids confusion and unwanted questions. In the primary Andorian language, known as Andorii, the distinctions are as follows... Genders zhen This gender roughly corresponds to female, and is the gender of the Andorian who will carry the zygote to term. shen This gender also roughly corresponds to female and is where all Andorian life originates. Although the zhen carries the infant, the child begins as gametes from the shen. chan This gender roughly corresponds to male. thaan This gender also roughly corresponds to male. Reproductive process During the conception of an Andorian child, the chan adds his gametes to those of the shen, which have already been fertilized by the thaan. The shen will then transfer the zygote to the zhen's pouch. Name prefixes Andorians have name "prefixes" which indicate which of the four genders they belong to. The "prefixes" thus encountered are as follows. *Zhen - zh' (eg. Shathrissia zh'Cheen, Charivretha zh'Thane) *Shen - sh' (eg. Pava Ek'Noor sh'Aqabaa, Avaranthi sh'Rothress) *Chan - ch' (eg. Thirishar ch'Thane, Thanashal ch'Shonnas) *Thaan - th' (eg. Thelianaresth th'Vorothishria, Shelerib th'Zarath) Polite form of address Zha, Sha, Cha, Tha Bondmate ''zh'yi, sh'za, ch'te, th'se Parent zhavey, shreya, charan, thavan Offspring zhei, shei, chei, thei Sibling zhi, shi, chi, thi Parent by marriage zhadi, shidei, chada, thadu Child by marriage zhri'za, shri'za, chri'ze, thri'ze History By the year 2376, the Andorian species was slowly dying out. The required union between all four genders, and a shrinking window of fertility created a reproductive crisis to which there was no known solution. While in the Gamma Quadrant, an Andorian chan, Starfleet ensign Thirishar ch'Thane, discovered a unique genetic turn key that existed in the non-viable eggs of a species known as the Yrythny. The eggs provided the solution to the Andorian's crisis by making it possible to widen the window of Andorian fertility and making it possible for a zhen to have more than one child at a time. (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine novel Worlds of Deep Space Nine volume one, Andor: Paradigm) :'' Disclaimer: The writers and editors at Pocket Books extrapolated the four Andorian genders from Data's line in the TNG episode Data's Day that Andorians marry in groups of four. They freely admit that one does not necessarily equate to the other, but felt that this interpretation afforded the best storytelling opportunities. This may seem to contradict information from Star Trek: Enterprise, where Andorians are shown with two-gendered relationships; however, the novels also establish that many older Andorians, after having reproduced with their bondmates, will sometimes form standard two-gendered couples. This is consistent with ENT's depiction of Shran, who is obviously middle aged. For an alternate view of Andorian reproduction, see the Star Trek: The Next Generation novel, The Eyes of the Beholders''. Category:Sex and reproduction Genders